Investments

Union Bank of the Philippines launches Bitcoin and Ethereum trading

UnionBank, one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines, debuts cryptocurrency trading via a partnership with a Swiss crypto firm.

The Union Bank of the Philippines, or simply UnionBank — one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines — has launched a pilot program for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) custody and trading services for select retail customers, the firm said in a joint announcement on Nov. 2.

The new investment and trading feature launched in collaboration with Swiss crypto technology firm Metaco, with UnionBank going live on Metaco’s digital asset platform Harmonize. UnionBank initially partnered with Metaco for the development of crypto trading services in January 2022.

Licensed and supervised by the Philippines’ central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), UnionBank has been actively exploring the crypto industry in recent years. In 2019, UnionBank launched a payments-focused stablecoin pegged to the Philippine peso.

Henry Aguda, chief technology officer and chief transformation officer at UnionBank, said that Metaco has been critical in the bank’s goal to provide “customer-centric” services in the Philippines. He also noted that UnionBank is among the early regulated adopters of crypto in the country, stating:

“We are proud to continue UnionBank’s series of industry firsts, this time being the first regulated bank in the country allowing digital currency exchange features for clients.”

The news comes shortly after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos highlighted the importance of adopting blockchain technology to master digital banking and digital transactions.

In an official presidential speech published in September 2022, Marcos referred to several related milestones by UnionBank, stating:

“The track record of UnionBank in creating opportunities through innovation and digital solutions in the banking sector is uncontested.”

Previously, BSP also warned the public against using non-local crypto trading platforms, stressing that dealing with foreign virtual asset service providers poses challenges in enforcing consumer protection. As of August, there were 19 registered VASPs in the Philippines.

Hong Kong financial regulator issues guidelines for crypto futures ETFs

The Securities and Futures Commission hinted it would follow in the CME’s footsteps by only initially allowing listings of ETFs linked to Bitcoin and Ether futures.

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has set up requirements for entities considering a public offering of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to cryptocurrency futures.

In an Oct. 31 circular, the SFC said that in addition to previously imposed requirements on unit trusts and mutual funds for authorization of a crypto futures ETF, management companies in Hong Kong would need to “have a good track record of regulatory compliance” as well as three years of experience managing ETFs, with consideration for similar investment vehicles. The financial regulator hinted it would follow in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s footsteps by only initially allowing listings of ETFs linked to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures.

“Only [virtual asset, or VA,] futures traded on conventional regulated futures exchanges are allowed, subject to the management company demonstrating that the relevant VA futures have adequate liquidity for the operation of the VA Futures ETF and the roll costs of the relevant VA futures contracts are manageable and how such roll costs will be managed,” said the SFC.

HKEX welcomes the SFC’s announcement today permitting the listing of ETFs with virtual assets as their underlying. This will support the continued growth of #HongKong as Asia’s premier #ETF marketplace, further strengthening Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre. pic.twitter.com/zLRgAUV6iX

— HKEX 香港交易所 (@HKEXGroup) October 31, 2022

The financial regulator added that the net derivative exposure of any crypto futures ETF “shall not exceed 100% of the ETF’s total net asset value,” and companies should expect to adopt an active investment strategy to account for incidents including market disruptions. The SFC also said ETF issuers were to “carry out extensive investor education” before the launch of any crypto investment vehicle in Hong Kong.

The SFC circular came as part of a policy update from Hong Kong’s government, which announced on Oct. 31 that it was “ready to engage” with global crypto exchanges on regulatory issues. The government said it planned to launch a number of pilot projects, including those aimed at nonfungible tokens, green bond tokenization, and a digital Hong Kong dollar.

Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s secretary for financial services and the reasury, said:

“We recognise the potential of DLT and Web 3.0 to become the future of finance and commerce, and under proper regulation they are expected to enhance efficiency and transparency. The Government is prepared to embrace this future, and we welcome the clustering of Fintech and VA community and talents in Hong Kong, and we will promote the sustainable development of financial services across the whole VA value chain.”

Hong Kong’s policy aims would seemingly put it on a different path than China, despite the political lines between the special administrative region and bordering nation becoming more blurred in recent years. The Chinese government has cracked down on crypto firms operating in the country but continues to move forward with piloting its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan.

Fidelity report shows resilience to crypto winter, huge adoption gap among investors

Fidelity Digital Assets’ research paints a not-too-gloomy picture of the digital asset institutional investment scene, although it indicates that some segments are much more active than others.

Fidelity Digital Assets released its annual study on institutional investment in digital assets on Oct. 27. Digital asset fundamentals remain strong despite headwinds, the study concludes, but adoption remains highly uneven among different types of investors.

In its survey of 1,052 institutional investors in Asia, Europe and the United States, Fidelity found digital asset adoption was up in the U.S. and Europe by 9% and 11%, respectively, to 42% and 67%. Asia experienced a slight decline in adoption but remained the leader at 69% regardless.

One of the biggest jumps observed was in U.S. high-net-worth investors’ future intentions: 74% of investors in this category plan to buy or invest in digital assets in the future, up from 31% a year earlier. Overall, that indicator rose from 71% to 74%. Fidelity Digital Assets president Tom Jessop commented in the report:

“Institutional investors are experienced in managing through cycles, and the largely inherent factors that they cited as appealing in this study will likely remain as the market emerges from this period.”

The most dramatic finding in the report may be the large gap in adoption among investor types. High-net-worth investors, crypto hedge funds/venture capital and financial advisers show a far greater affinity to digital assets than family offices, pensions/defined benefit plans, traditional hedge funds, and endowments and foundations. Thus, while 82% of high-net-worth investors “currently buy/invest in digital assets,” that figure drops to 7% for traditional hedge funds and 5% for pension funds.

Fidelity is very bullish on crypto. Fidelity Digital Assets announced 100 new hires on Oct. 20, to bring its staff to 500 by the end of the first quarter of 2023. It also initiated Ether (ETH) custody and trading services, to begin Oct. 28. In April, Fidelity announced its intention to offer Americans 401(k) retirement plans with Bitcoin (BTC) exposure.

Are crypto trading bots legit?

A tool for professional traders, crypto trading bots are increasingly popular among retail investors for the automation they offer.

How much does a crypto trading bot cost, and are they worth it?

While most popular crypto trading bots are offered for free, they do come with associated costs, such as trading commissions and withdrawal fees, that need to be evaluated before proceeding.

When choosing a crypto trading bot, investors need to weigh the pros and cons of “free” crypto trading bots compared to those that charge a flat monthly or annual subscription fee. Most popular crypto trading bots like Naga, Pionex, eToroX do not charge users for viewing but have trading commissions starting from as low as 0.05% for every trade executed via their platform.

This is especially pertinent for those whose daily trading volumes regularly exceed tens of thousands of dollars. The trading fees due over a month could be far more than the subscription fee charged by other competitors.

For example, cloud-based trading bots like CoinRule and CryptoHopper provide a free trial, after which users can be charged from as low as $19/month to as high as $450/month, depending on the plan and range of services selected. These trading bots make more sense for investors with high trading volumes and who want to enjoy these services from anywhere in the world.

That said, investors or traders looking to purchase or rent a crypto trading bot need to verify if their crypto exchange supports bots. For example, CoinBase does not allow trading bots to interact with its platform, providing that utility with its CoinBase Pro platform.

However, with Coinbase announcing that the CoinBase Pro platform will cease to exist by the end of 2022, all advanced trading features, including the use of trading bots, will be available to all its users by the start of 2023. Exchanges like Binance, on the other hand, support a range of crypto trading bots and are much more suited for those looking to indulge in the high-speed trading powered by these bots.

Are crypto trading bots legal and safe?

While crypto trading bots are legal and widely used by institutional investors, many fake or poorly coded bots are being sold to unassuming investors by anonymous bot creators.

Despite many reservations regarding the legal status of crypto trading bots, the fact remains that these bots are used worldwide and are considered to be legal. The extent of automated trading in traditional financial markets has been growing, and there is no reason to believe that cryptocurrency markets will fare any differently.

However, being legal is not the same as being safe. This is especially true for traders accustomed to trading in large volumes in the hope of eking out sizable profits from marginal price changes in the underlying cryptocurrency.

While a crypto trading bot will undoubtedly help execute large trades in a matter of a few milliseconds, the potential for raking up huge losses is very high if the trading strategy is not sufficiently back-tested. A critical component of developing a successful trading system, backtesting involves recreating outcomes using historical data and the resulting statistics to gauge the success of the trading strategy.

Additionally, cryptocurrency markets do not function based on technical analysis alone, requiring traders to be mindful of fundamental changes or updates to the underlying protocol of a particular cryptocurrency. This is impossible with crypto trading bots, as they rely on mathematical calculations based on pricing behaviors to spot and execute trades. Thus, it is essential that traders use crypto trading bots with fundamentally sound cryptocurrencies and perfect their trading strategies to generate consistent profits.

How successful are crypto trading bots?

Whether paid or free, crypto trading bots should be selected based on data regarding historical performance, the credibility of the bot’s creator and the reviews of peers who have used it before.

It is a known fact that most of the trading activity on Wall Street is dominated by algorithmic trading, which has been accelerating over the past decade. The same is now reflected in the cryptocurrency markets as institutional investors’ trading activity continues to gain momentum and far exceeds the trading volume contributed by retail investors.

As a result, the usage of trading bots is on the rise. An increasing number of private investors are utilizing one or more AI crypto trading bots to improve their chances of making consistent profits in the cryptocurrency markets.

However, while there are many free and paid crypto trading bots available, it is important to understand how these bots perform the tasks their advocates promise. For a crypto trading bot to deliver positive returns on a net basis, it must execute trades with lightning-fast speeds and have zero or negligible errors in its code.

Risk diversification strategies are used to decide the consistency of profits as even a single un-hedged trade could jeopardize days and weeks’ worth of trading profits. On the trader’s part, it is, therefore, essential to run multiple trading bots and choose only those that have a proven track record of producing substantial returns.

How does a crypto trading bot work?

Developed using programming scripts like Python, Java, C , or C#, crypto trading bots employ APIs to interact with different crypto exchanges and execute trades on them.

Crypto trading bots need to churn data from exchanges, generate trading signals from them, calculate the risk involved and then execute a trade. This applies to buy or sell trades and is repeated for every instance where a crypto trading bot interacts with a crypto exchange.

Using Application Programming Interface (API) keys to access the trader’s account, a crypto trading bot first analyzes the data using machine learning algorithms and identifies potential trades meeting its pre-set criteria.

Subsequently, it allocates capital in proportion to the risk defined by the trader and executes trades by sending buy or sell orders to the crypto exchange using its API. The length of code employed in a crypto trading bot varies depending on the number of trading strategies that it can deploy. At the same time, the programming language used is based on the comfort level of the bot creator.

That said, most advanced crypto trading bots currently in use rely on Python, primarily because it is well-suited to creating software for algorithmic trading and has advanced libraries of which developers can make use.

What is a crypto trading bot?

Using artificial intelligence and programmed codes, crypto trading bots act as automated trading systems that execute trades with minimal errors and require almost no human intervention.

Because cryptocurrency trading occurs seven days a week around the clock, crypto trading bots have emerged as the de-facto tool for professional retail traders and institutional investors to track every move in the cryptocurrency market and profit from it.

A crypto trading bot is a software program that automates trading tasks, such as selecting, buying and selling a cryptocurrency based on specific parameters set by the bot’s programmer or creator.

Employing principles of artificial intelligence (AI) such as safety, objectivity and trust, crypto trading bots can be configured to execute different crypto trading strategies, such as buying into undervalued crypto tokens, adding new cryptocurrencies that have hit the market or even trading in a basket of cryptocurrencies to gain from price fluctuations.

Since crypto trading bots work per pre-defined rules and conditions, they keep investors from falling prey to emotions and offer a more efficient way of trading in volatile cryptocurrency markets.

Whether a crypto trading bot is configured to send trading signals or go the last mile and execute a trade, investors can benefit immensely from the logic-based approach and AI-powered automation on offer.

Next Bitcoin rally to start in Q2 2023 — Mark Yusko explains why

The anticipation of the next Bitcoin halving will spark a crypto rally in 2023 regardless of the grim macroeconomic picture, according to hedge fund manager Mark Yusko.

The anticipation of the next Bitcoin (BTC) halving will be the main catalyst that sparks a new crypto rally as soon as the second quarter of 2023, according to hedge fund manager Mark Yusko.

The halving mechanism, which reduces Bitcoin’s block rewards by half every four years, has historically been a major catalyst for crypto rallies. The next halving is expected to occur in early 2024.

“Usually the market will anticipate that by about nine months,” Yusko said in a recent interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the hedge fund manager, the halving will propel Bitcoin to $100,000, and potentially beyond, “by the laws of math.”

“If the block rewards get cut in half to 3.125 from 6.25, then the price has got to double-ish in order for the miners to continue to make money,” he stated.

Yusko thinks the rally is going to take place despite an unfavorable macroeconomic picture dominated by high interest rates and slow growth.

That is because, according to Yusko, digital assets will ultimately prove to be uncorrelated with equity markets.

“Traditional assets are driven by economic growth, Fed policies, inflation. Crypto is driven by the technology itself, millennial adoption,” explained Yusko.

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Ecosystem is bullish on the metaverse, no matter what the numbers imply

Despite the reports surfacing of low numbers of unique active wallets on Decentraland, the metaverse hype, investment and development go on.

An initial interpretation of DappRadar numbers on Oct. 11 reported extremely low engagement numbers for Decentraland, one of Web3’s most-hyped metaverses. The numbers shocked the community, as the platform has a current market evaluation of $1.2 billion.

Shortly after the initial report broke, both DappRadar and Decentraland verified that the published number of less than 40 unique active wallets (UAW) was not an accurate representation of activity on the network. According to DappRadar’s tracker at the time of writing, UAW is just over 600.

A DappRadar report following the incident revealed that blockchain games and metaverse projects raised a cumulative $1.3 billion in the third fiscal quarter.

However, if user engagement is low, what keeps investors coming back for more of the metaverse?

Cointelegraph spoke with Decentraland, DappRadar and prominent metaverse investor Animoca Brands,= to better understand what it is about the metaverse that keeps investors coming back.

Robert Hoogendoorn, the head of content at DappRadar, highlighted that despite the plummet in both crypto token prices and trading volume in United States dollars for metaverse land, the actual number of trades only dropped by 11%.

“This shows there’s still strong demand,” he says. Hoogendoorn also reiterated that participation in the metaverse goes far beyond just logging in. It is also decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) activity and development teams leveraging each other’s open-source software:

“It’s not a one-way stream from business to consumer, but a web of entangled stakeholders, builders, creators, users, investors, organizers and so on.”

Sam Hamilton, the creative director of the Decentraland Foundation, said it is obvious that the space is still young. He continued to say that it “might be shocking” but numbers aren’t stopping anyone from joining in this creative climate.

Hamilton understands that many dismiss the metaverse as nothing more than “pointless entertainment,” but in reality, developers are creating something much larger:

“When you spend your days building something as massive and impactful as the metaverse, it becomes very hard to be short-sighted and merely care about numbers.”

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, said negative responses to important technological shifts are nothing new but expects to see them shift as the technology itself ripens.

Siu stressed that from an operational perspective, the decentralized metaverse is a better business model which is easier to both obtain capital and offer cool opportunities to consumers.

However, from a user perspective, he said it is even more important because products and services offer empowerment as never before. Nonfungible ownership presents new benefits from digital goods and data to “give users a stake and a voice in the products and services that they use”

“Blockchain is not simply a technological change but also one that enables socio-political change.”

Siu is previously quoted saying that he believes GameFi will be the onboarding point for users into the metaverse.

While some on crypto Twitter questioned the value of the metaverse, developers and investors have shown no hesitation in building out a digital universe. New tools and events are constantly being deployed to make the metaverse a more tangible experience.

Women remain bullish on crypto investment despite market lull: Survey

As the crypto winter rages on, new data from BlockFi reveals that women investors are still bullish on crypto, with 22% intending to buy in the next 12 months.

The crypto market downturn is proving a difficult storm to weather for both investors and businesses alike in the industry. However, according to new data, this hasn’t stopped women from being bullish on crypto.

A new survey conducted by BlockFi, a crypto trading and investment platform, asked women across the United States about their views of and participation in the crypto industry between September 2021 and March 2022.

According to the findings, one in 10 women chose crypto as their first investment, with 17% of that being Millennial women investors and 11% Generation Z. Findings even revealed that of the women surveyed, 7% of Generation X, which includes individuals born between 1965 and 1980, reported crypto as their first investment.

However, as past data has revealed, more education and clarity surrounding the space is needed to make investors feel secure and confident in their investments.

The survey highlighted that while an overwhelming majority of surveyed women (81%) have heard of crypto, 77% still view it as a risky investment.

Flori Marquez, founder and chief operating officer of BlockFi, echoed the sentiment that education is key to bringing more women into the space:

“Knowledge drives empowerment and confidence.”

Despite the barriers, both market- and education-wise, many women still see a place for themselves in the industry. Over one in five (22%) said they have the intention to buy crypto in the next year. 20% of Gen Z women called Bitcoin the “best long-term investment” among others in a lineup of investment choices.

Data from the BlockFi survey showed that women are indeed here to hodl, with 69% of female crypto owners saying they hold crypto and remain hold-only.

Marquez said the current downturn of the crypto market is the perfect time to build on these communities of female hodlers.

“The best building happens during bear markets. It’s imperative that we utilize this time to build products and communities that are inclusive to all investors.”

Back in May of this year, billionaire Tim Draper insisted that the next bull market will be driven by adoption from female investors.

Japanese port city wants to become the Web3 hub for the country

Through a new collaboration with Astar Japan Labs, the city of Fukuoka aims to become the Web3 hub of the country, akin to Silicon Valley.

In Japan, the city of Fukuoka is looking toward the future of Web3 in its latest partnership with Astar Japan Labs, the company behind Japan’s leading blockchain, the Astar network.

Fukuoka is the country’s second-largest port city and has officially been designated as a National Special Strategic Zone. Now it also plans to become the country’s hub for all things Web3 and crypto.

The Astar Japan Labs partnership will allow both entities to work together on new use cases for Web3 technologies. Fukuoka joins more than 45 companies working with Astar, including Microsoft Japan and Amazon Japan.

According to the announcement, the city wants to attract global, competitive businesses to the area. Representatives from Astar will regularly visit the city to provide education and new use cases both locally and throughout the country in collaboration with local governments.

The mayor of Fukuoka, Soichiro Takashima, also stood behind the city’s new aspirations in Web3:

“We have to do in the context of Web3 what large companies did for the world when Japan was strong.”

Astar Network founder Sota Watanabe likened the city’s attitude toward crypto to those leading the crypto scene abroad. “In the U.S., some cities like Maimi and New York have positive attitudes toward Web3 and crypto. We are going to work closely with Fukuoka City to attract more developers and more entrepreneurs.”

This new development comes after a flurry of changes in Japan regarding the crypto and Web3 scene.

The country has been touted as one of the toughest in terms of crypto regulations, which have the potential to deter its allure. On the other hand, it also recently loosened a set of regulations for listing new currencies on authorized exchanges.

On Oct. 3, the Japanese prime minister said in a speech that the government has plans for major investment in Web3 and metaverse initiatives.

The government has recently utilized nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to reward local authorities.

Web3 to inject $1.1T in India’s GDP by 2032, following 37x growth since 2020

The explosive Web3 growth in the country is supported by several factors, including a large talent pool, a high adoption rate and product development for global markets.

The global Web3 boom is expected to add $1.1 trillion to the Indian economy over the next decade, supporting the investment-based momentum driven by over 450 in-house startups, including CoinDCX, Polygon and CoinSwitch.

A recent study from the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, highlighted India’s position as a leading global player in the Web3 market owing to several factors spanning a large talent pool, high adoption rate and product development for international markets.

*Snapshot of India’s Web3 startup ecosystem in 2022. Source: NASSCOM*

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) estimated that “Web3 can add $1.1 trillion of new economic value to the Indian GDP in the next 10 years.”

*Investments in Indian Web3 startups. Source: USISPF and NASSCOM*

Moreover, the study highlighted that investments in Indian Web3 startups mimicked crypto adoption by racking up a 37x growth over the last two years. The explosive Web3 growth in the country is further supported by an increasing talent pool, which makes India’s demand-supply gap the lowest when compared to the USA, China and UK.

In addition, India ranks first when it comes to reskilling in newer technologies, which is considered paramount in emerging technologies such as Web3 and blockchain.

*Global Web3 talent distribution. Source: OKX and NASSCOM*

The above graphic shows the global talent pool for Web3, showcasing the US and China overpowering India. However, the study estimates that India’s Web3 talent pool is expected to experience the fastest growth rate in the coming 1-2 years.

*Focus areas for Indian Web3 startups. Source: Zinnov CoNXT Research & Analysis*

The Indian Web3 ecosystem caters to a variety of real-world applications and roughly 60% of the local startups expanded their footprint outside India.

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart recently launched a metaverse space — named Flipverse — for locals to try out and purchase merchandise from brands including Puma and Nivea.

Flipverse was developed in collaboration with Polygon-incubated organization eDAO and will support digital collectibles and be made available on Flipkart’s newly online shopping platform, FireDrops.